a16z Podcast Can America Win The AI Biotech Race Against China? | Lada Nuzhna & Elliot Hershberg
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Nov 14, 2025 
In this engaging discussion, Elliot Hirshberg, a venture capitalist focused on biotech platforms, and Lada Nuzhna, founder of General Control and biotech analyst, dive into the staggering costs of drug development, revealing it's now $2.5 billion per approval. They explore how China’s fast-tracked trials are reshaping global competitiveness and the significant impact of regulations. The duo muses on how future biotechs might leverage innovative modalities and advanced AI to navigate these challenges and potentially reduce costs.
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Science Versus Market Paradox
- Biotech shows a massive disconnect: scientific capability is surging while the business and markets are contracting.
- This creates both a funding crunch and a rare opportunity for new, transformative companies.
Founders Taking Trials Abroad
- Amplify had three companies starting first-in-human trials and none began them in the U.S.
- The team now routinely moves initial studies to Australia or Asia due to regulatory and execution friction.
China's Clinical-Speed Advantage
- China competes on speed and cost by running faster, cheaper trials and parallelizing review processes.
- That arbitrage pressures U.S. startups to run first-in-human studies overseas.